Guffie’s Guide to Writing Successful Fanfiction
by Ava Nova
Summary: Tried writing fan fiction and aren’t happy with it? Want to know how to write successful fan fiction? READ THIS! NOT AN ACTUAL STORY!
1. Prologue: Index

**Guffie's Guide to Writing Successful Fanfiction**

**A/N: Okay, so a lot of people know that my fanfic isn't exactly 'successful' but this is based of the things I have noted from fanfics everyone loves and everyone reads. **

Tried writing fanfiction and aren't happy with it? Want to know how to write successful fanfiction? READ THIS!

This will be split into sections as named below:

**Getting To Know You – Know your fandom!**

**The Game Plan – Plan out your story!**

**Keepin' It Real – Keep to the fandom!**

**The Spelling Bee Of Life – Grammar And Punctuation**

**Start To End – Prologue's and Epilogues.**

**The Climb – Keep the story moving!**

**What Do You Think? – Getting Reviews!**

**I'd Like To Thank… - Author's Notes and Responses!**

**Saying Goodbye – Ending The Story!**

**Welcome Back! – Prequels and Sequels.**

**FAQ's – I'll answer your writing questions!**

Each section will focus on different aspects of story writing! So take a look at whatever chapters you want! The last chapter – FAQ's – will be all the questions you want to ask. If you read through this and some of your questions aren't answered feel free to ask! I'll post them there with the answers.

If you are a popular fanfiction writer, or have any advice, feel free to send it in! You could help set up a guide to fanfiction writing! It would be greatly appreciated!

And yes, I understand this isn't a story. But I always like to help people write stories. And this may help!


	2. Chapter 1: Getting To Know You

**Chapter 1: Getting To Know You**

Every fandom is different – people write on a range of things from TV to musicals to Books. So my first tip is:

•**KNOW WHAT YOU'RE WRITING ABOUT!**

Everyone loves a story more when the characters aren't Out Of Character (OOC). A bossy character shouldn't be submissive. They should still be bossy. Try to keep all the information given to you about your fandom similar aswell.

Try keeping it in the same place, with the right historical accuracy. Knights and fair maidens didn't have cell phones (of course, this doesn't matter if it's Humor of Parody).

Take this for example:

_Sir Whats-his-face rode quickly up to the castle, calling to his fair maiden. The distance to her tower was too far, however. He simply pulled out his cell phone and gave her a ring._

… no.

If you don't know what's going on, feel free to do some research. If you do make a mistake before loading it onto the web or showing someone, there's sure to be some nice person who will point it out to you. That, or you could always get a beta reader! (on this site mainly – I don't know of any others with beta readers.)

A lot of stories I have read have created a story with their own place and characters, but with characteristics from a certain fandom (i.e: Using races/events in time/ lands mentioned in a book, but with no actual characters from the original stories playing major characters). This leaves room for adjustment.

And some stories even completely swap around the world, create new pairings, new places, new pasts and presents. That's okay aswell. A lot of people like to read something a little different to the norm. The main rule with that is to try and keep SOMETHING as a constant – a connection. Usually people use characters with the same name and personality, suddenly put in a different setting.

Other Characters (OC's) are very common (mostly among us fangirls!). Many are thrown into a new world, some have always been there, some simply walk in and sometimes main characters are thrown into the OC's world. These always have to leave room for the story to change. Again, always find a constant – an OC can't fall in love with a cannon character if they have nothing in common and hate each other. Sure 'opposites attract', but they won't suddenly fall head over heels in love with just a touch on the arm if they've hated each other for weeks. Don't be stupid.

If you're a fangirl, like me, try to remember to keep your fangirlishness out of it. A lot of romance stories move way too fast to make sense. Take the story slow and try to make it natural. Again, characters won't fall madly in love at first sight – it never _really_ works that way.

I'm pretty sure that's all for now – please wait till next time for **Chapter 2: The Game Plan**.


	3. Chapter 2: The Game Plan

**Chapter 2: The Game Plan**

Every story needs a conflict. For some people this is the first thing they think, for some it's harder. For me, I usually wait until I have inspiration.

Always think of every possibility. Brainstorm ideas. Who is paired with who? What is the genre of the story? What is the central happening of the story?

Tip 2:

•**Plan ahead; don't leave anything to chance!**

If you're a music lover, listen to anything you can. Sometimes songs will sometimes give you writing ideas that you can build around with other songs. And if you can't build up a full story, write a songfic!

If you can get ideas from real life and things that happen to you or around you, try to keep paper or a notebook around. Jot down notes and ideas for viewing later. You never know when a real life experience could come in handy.

For most of my stories I think of the ending first; trying to get there is the problem. So, before I start writing I plan out certain things I want to take place. Does this character have a mental breakthrough? Does another suffer great loss, and how do they overcome it? Small sub-plots always keep the readers informed on what is going on.

Remember, while each story has a main character and a main plot, the lives of other characters don't suddenly stop. Remind the readers what's happening every now and again; integrate minor characters into the storyline where suitable. Don't show a subplot every few lines, just use them to make conversations or overviews look more casual. If a character were thinking of the world around them they would think of what is going on in the lives of their friends - and their enemies.

If you are a perfectionist, try a timeline. Write in the story beginning and end at each end of the timeline, and try filling it in with things that happen in between. It doesn't matter how messy it is; you can always add or take out things later.

Try to get a beta reader or a friend to read through it for you. Let them tell you what parts don't make sense to them or what characters are falling out of line. A second opinion always helps.

Once you do start writing, keep copies saved to your computer at all times. You might want to go back later and change a few things. Change is always good, but if you have added parts later that don't work with these changes, try to make everything fit together. The plan falls apart if the pieces don't fit.

The good thing about this site is it allows you to replace the documents you use for chapters, so redo's can be done at any time. Feel free to upload unfinished works so that readers can give you tips and hints themselves.

That's all for now; next chapter will be **Chapter 3: Keepin' It Real**


	4. Chapter 3: Keepin' It Real

**Chapter 3: Keepin' It Real**

This topic was touched on in Chapter 1, so this may seem a little repetitive. Fanfiction is usually thought to be easier that writing stories that are completely your own, but it gets pretty difficult when you spend a lot of time away from the fandom.

Try writing down what you know about a character. How does their personality change during the story? Does it change at all? When someone reads a fanfiction from a fandom they love, they won't be a happy when all the characters have totally different personalities. Try to spell the names of people and places correctly.

If you have a lot of time on your hands try to create a web of how people react with each other. Use blue lines for family, yellow for friends, red for the person they love and black for people they don't get along with. This way you know how one character should react with another at any time by just looking at the web. (I would show one below, but you can't use pictures on this site  )

Try to remember as many facts as possible. If it's been a while since you've seen/read/heard what you're writing about, go see/read/hear it again. Look it up on the internet. It's better to update later than have to go back and change it.

OC's can always change around how the world works and help form new friendships and new enemies, but drastic personality changes don't happen in a day. If you do plan on having characters change their personalities, try to imagine a real person you don't like becoming your friend. Make the transformation slow and gradual. There will be setbacks.

For Humor or Parody stories, most if this doesn't count. Your stories are for laughs, or are written in a manner that is to make fun of something. Characters are liable to change and things that are impossible can often happen aswell. If you feel like doing something that doesn't make sense in a serious story, write a small humor story. It can always brighten your day and help give you new inspiration.

That's all for this topic – look for **Chapter 4: The Spelling Bee Of Life**.


	5. Chapter 4: The Spelling Bee Of Life

**Chapter 4: The Spelling Bee of Life**

This one really annoys me. A lot of people ignore the most common forms of proper grammar. If you have trouble using spelling, capital letters, full stops, commas and quotation marks, get a beta reader or a friend to help.

Tip 3:

• **Use paragraphs – it's hard to read stories that are just one giant block.**

It's not hard – just press the 'enter' key whenever a new character starts talking and it already looks neater!

You don't have to make a new paragraph for every little change, or for every sentence. The best times to start new paragraphs are:

•When a character leaves or arrives. (e.g.: 'Maria's train of thought was broken as Lucifer approached.')

• When you move into another sub plot (e.g.: 'Meanwhile, three blocks away…')

• When the topic you are writing on changes. (E.g.: 'Her views on Religion different aswell.')

There are more, just none I can think of right now. Try to think of more on your own.

Writing in Microsoft Word can help a lot with spelling. It's what I use, and Word automatically has a spell checker depending on the language you chose to use. It can automatically change the letter at the beginning of a sentence to a capital letter, but a lot of quotation marks and full stops you may have to add yourself.

When characters are having a conversation, try to always start a new line.

Example:

"_Good morning Casey!" Gina cried happily, skipping up to me in the hallway. I looked up from my homework and smiled in my usual, half-tired way._

"_Morning Gina." She smiled and sat next to me. I closed my book loudly and huffed._

"_History homework is just impossible when your teacher is Miss Walton!"_

"_I guess I'm just lucky to have Mr. Del Porto then Case." She laughed._

See? It looks a lot better than it would without any grammar at all:

_good morning casey! gina cried happily, skipping up to me in the hallway i looked up from my homework and smiled in my usual half-tired way. morning gina. she smiled and sat next to me i closed my book loudly and huffed history homework is just impossible when your teacher is miss walton! i guess im just lucky to have mr del porto then case she laughed_

Hmm… You decide.

That's all for now… next chapter will be **Chapter 5: Start To End**. We can finally start writing up the story!


	6. Chapter 5: Start To End

**Chapter 5: Start To End**

If you have been using this guide to write your story, and have thus far followed all the tips I have given, you are ready to start!

Not every story is different, so you have to feel free to scope out and not use some of the tips I've given.

**This chapter is mainly optional. It will teach you how to write Prologues and Epilogues, and if you don't use them, opening chapters.**

For those unfamiliar with the terminology, I will explain each piece on it's own:

•Prologue: The Prologue comes before the story starts, and is usually used to explain some things about the story or create a dramatic atmosphere. Sometimes the Prologue is actually from the point of view of someone looking back on their life. The Prologue doesn't usually start the story as a first chapter simply named 'Prologue'. Look at some books or stories you know have Prologues and see how they are written for ideas on how to write one. The Prologue is only ever the length of around one chapter, and is immediately followed by the first chapter.

• Opening Chapter: Is more often than not used in the place of the Prologue, where instead of having a dramatic entrance you are immediately sent into the world or situation the whole story is. It's difficult to explain the different between an opening chapter and a Prologue.

• Epilogue: The ending equivalent to a Prologue. Around the length of one chapter or shorter, and at the end of the story. For some stories it moves a certain amount of time forward, and almost always ties loose ends by telling you what happened to each character and whether they lived happily ever after.

And as a final thing to clear up: Having a prologue doesn't mean you need an epilogue. You can have one without the other, or both.

That's all for this chapter, our next topic will be **Chapter 6: The Climb**.


	7. Chapter 6: The Climb

**Chapter 6: The Climb**

And so the plot thickens! You've started your story and well on your way! Feeling the rush of having your own work yet? Well, today's great tip is:

• **Write out all your chapters as soon as possible and keep them saved. If you have a loss of inspiration you can still update!**

This is one of my biggest problems as a writer. I'll start writing and then I lose inspiration, or I get lost. Use your timeline from earlier, and use the world around you to keep inspiration. When you're in a writing rush or when you have a lot of inspiration write as many chapters as possible. There are hundreds of writers who spend years without updating because they are in writer's block or have no inspiration.

Again, don't rush! Try to take things slow. That doesn't mean write very short chapters, but it also doesn't mean write hundreds of long chapters. Don't rush things, but try not to stretch them out.

I keep specifying this: get friends or beta readers to read through your work. They will tell you if the chapters need to be longer or shorter. You can always meld two chapters together, or split a long chapter into two. Again, this site allows you to easily replace documents if you want to shorten/lengthen chapters.

Try to set deadlines for updates. If you take a while to update, try to set it for once a month. Fast writers try once a week. This way your readers can say 'a new chapter will be up by Monday! I can't wait!' Or whatever day you update. Also, the most recently updated stories go to the top of the list on the first page!

A lot of people leave authors notes saying they won't write anymore until they get a certain amount of reviews. If this is your first story, that's not a good move. It's best to have 3 or 4 chapters up before you say that, so that people have enough to read, give ideas or critique to. I've had to post an entire story before I got any reviews. Story Alerts and favorites are just as good. It means people are not only reading it, they like it or want to know when you add more. If you do have people waiting on you, update!

This is all for now (more may be added as this is the hardest topic to cover). The next update will be **Chapter 7: What Do You Think?**


	8. Chapter 7: What Do You Think?

**Chapter 7: What Do You Think?**

This chapter is basically about getting reviews! Now I, unfortunately, can't just give you a magic spell to get reviews, but here are a couple of tips:

•**If you need to, leave a little note at the end of each chapter with 'Please Review!' or something along those lines. That way people know you WANT reviews.**

• **Update as often as possible. This way your story stays on the first page, near the top of the list. More people see it, more people read it, more people review! Also, people are more likely to read a story with more written than a story that only has one chapter up (not including one shots!)**

Obviously, it's important whoever is reading it likes the story, so don't be annoyed if you get flames (negative reviews) complaining about it. Some people won't like your work, and others just want to put you down. The best thing to do is just look at it carefully. Complaint about grammar? Try to spell better! Complaint about Mary-Sueism? Try to create less of a Mary-Sue. If you don't want to change parts of your story, just leave them a message saying 'Thanks for your input! From now on if you still don't like my story, just stop reading it.'

REPLYING TO REVIEWS. The hard part.

If someone asks what is going to happen in the future, be vague, but still answer the question. If they know how it ends why bother reading it?

Don't send an angry message every time you get a flame. Stay calm and let them know it doesn't bother you too much.

Sometimes you will get people who give ideas, and want to help you with your story. You can go ahead and use them if they offer them! Just remember to say thanks (maybe in an Author's Note!)

That's all for now! Next time you will be reading **Chapter 8: I'd Like To Thank…**


	9. Chapter 9: I'd Like To Thank

**A/N: Seeing as this is the chapter on author's notes I would like to thank Chickeloo for reminding me to update.**

**I also want to thank kasplosion, MrsCarlisle and musicgal3 for reviewing aswell. ^_^**

**Chapter 8: I'd Like To Thank….**

Although it's probably the easiest part of a story to write, unless people really care about what you have to say they aren't likely to read author's notes. There are so many different things to put into one, but here are the most common:

• **Individual replies to reviewers.**

• **A thank you specifically for a person/group of people.**

• **An excuse as to why you haven't updated in so long.**

• **Some huge chat between the author and the characters in their story.**

Personally, I find the last point very annoying. I want to read the story, not hear an argument with a character about whether or not they should read the disclaimer. Especially when the Author's Note is longer than the story/chapter. That's a big no in my book.

But really, it's all about how well you write. If you do have something important to say, say it!

A lot of people also leave _very _short notes at the end of a story/chapter asking them to review, or saying what they thought of it. That's okay too, just don't make it too long.

I can't give any tips to a successful Author's Note – it all depends on who you are. This is your little spot to talk directly to your readers. The only thing I can find an absolute 'don't do' is;

• **Never try to threaten the reader into reviewing.**

If it's a joke, make that clear. But don't threaten to do something to them, or leave them hate messages if they don't. Again, If your joking, MAKE IT CLEAR. Sometimes you have to be very clear on what your saying.

On the concept of review replies, there are two simple ways to do it.

• **Leave them a private review reply.**

• **Leave a message for them in your authors note.**

Either of these two are quick and easy, and if someone has reviewed they will definitely want to see some sort of reply from you. A reader likes to know you think their contribution is important.

• **Don't leave a note saying 'I love reviews, please review!' If you aren't going to reply to them. They probably won't review again. **

Well, I really can't think of anything else to say, so I'll leave it at that! The next chapter should be **Chapter 9: Saying Goodbye**.


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